"I was just looking over the boards as a matter of curiosity."
"Oh, you were, eh?"
"Yes."
"Well, folks' curiosity sometimes gits them into trouble," sneered the tally-man.
"There is no harm in my looking at the boards, is there?" demanded Steve, raising his voice ever so little.
"Git out of here! Git out, I say! If ever I catch you fooling around these boards I'll trim you so you won't forget it," growled Marvin.
Steve stepped back. Perhaps he had no business there, but he resented the manner in which the information was delivered to him.
"I do not think it will be well for you to lay hands on me," he retorted.
"What's that?"